Endangered California red-legged frogs at a creek part of the wetlands in and around Sharp Park Golf Course in Pacifica, Calif., on Monday, March 21, 2011.
Ran on: 03-24-2011
California red-legged frogs are food for an even rarer snake.
Ran on: 03-24-2011
California red-legged frogs are food for an even rarer snake. less

Endangered California red-legged frogs at a creek part of the wetlands in and around Sharp Park Golf Course in Pacifica, Calif., on Monday, March 21, 2011.
Ran on: 03-24-2011
California red-legged frogs are ... more

Photo: Thomas Levinson, The Chronicle

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Lisa Wayne, Natural Areas Program Director at S. F. Recreation and Park, surveys the wetlands in and around Sharp Park Golf Course searching for California Red-legged frogs and eggs in Pacifica, Calif., on Monday, March 21, 2011. less

Lisa Wayne, Natural Areas Program Director at S. F. Recreation and Park, surveys the wetlands in and around Sharp Park Golf Course searching for California Red-legged frogs and eggs in Pacifica, Calif., on ... more

Photo: Thomas Levinson, The Chronicle

Image 4 of 5

A gaggle of Canada geese forage inside of Sharp Park Golf Course in Pacifica, Calif., on Monday, March 21, 2011.

A gaggle of Canada geese forage inside of Sharp Park Golf Course in Pacifica, Calif., on Monday, March 21, 2011.

Photo: Thomas Levinson, The Chronicle

Image 5 of 5

Golfers play Hole 12 at Sharp Park Golf Course in Pacifica, Calif. on Saturday, Dec. 19, 2009. Golfers and environmentalists are at odds over the 18-hole course at Sharp Park, where two species' habitats are located - the endangered San Francisco garter snake and the threatened red-legged frog. less

Golfers play Hole 12 at Sharp Park Golf Course in Pacifica, Calif. on Saturday, Dec. 19, 2009. Golfers and environmentalists are at odds over the 18-hole course at Sharp Park, where two species' habitats are ... more

Photo: Adam Lau, The Chronicle

Sharp Park: The best solution to do nothing

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San Francisco -- Figuring out the right thing to do with Sharp Park Golf Course is harder than making a 12-foot putt. Downhill. With a 4-foot break.

Opinions are no problem. Everyone has one. There are people who fervently believe the golf course should immediately be turned into a wildlife refuge for the endangered California red-legged frog and San Francisco garter snake. And there are those who believe, just as passionately, that the snakes and frogs have been fine up until now, so let us play golf.

There is another way.

Do nothing.

Don't spend $12 million or more to reinforce the seawall along the ocean. In fact - and this is a bit of a shocker - let the seawall go. In 40 or 50 years, the relentless ocean will take down the wall, a beach will reappear, and the lagoons in the course will rise and form a freshwater barrier. Snakes and frogs will live in those lagoons, as they have for eons.

In the meantime - play golf.

But, you say, you were out at Sharp Park recently and the golf course was a mess. And that's true. San Francisco has treated Sharp Park as an ugly stepchild.

"In the last six to seven years, it has gone from 68,000 rounds a year to 40, 000," said Dave Holland, assistant San Mateo County manager. "That's not because of environmental issues; it is because you can lose your golf ball in the middle of the fairway. It is mismanaged."

San Mateo County wants to get involved - after all, Sharp Park is in San Mateo County. The county wants to sign a 30-year lease with San Francisco to supervise and manage the course and tap into private funds to revive it and make it snake- and frog-friendly.

During that 30-year period, the seawall that holds out the breakers would be left to the elements. If an El Niño storm breached the wall and the fairways were flooded with salt water, something else would have to be done.

"We live in an adaptive world," said Holland. "The endangered species are the drivers in all this. If changes have to be made, we would make them."

Amy Meyer, a former Recreation and Park Department commissioner and co-chair of People for a National Golden Gate National Recreation Area, made the same point when she headed up a working group study for Rec and Park.

"There is a long-term view and a short-term view," she said. "This can't be instantaneous, no matter what you want to do."

But that's exactly what the true believers want to do. They want trails and marshland, right now. But there's a bit of a catch-22.

The City Charter prevents the Rec and Park Department from transferring any property without a vote. The exception is if the property is going to the federal government, which would be the Park Service in this case. But GGNRA doesn't want to have anything to do with Sharp Park, especially if it means managing a golf course.

That's why Supervisor John Avalos, who favors giving the area to the Park Service, has written an ordinance that says "the agreement shall also expressly require the termination of any golf course use of Sharp Park."

But even that may not satisfy the Park Service, because it would require the city to clear up contaminated sites, protect sensitive habitats and resolve drainage and flood control before it would take over.

Although there are people who swear all that wouldn't cost a penny, that seems wildly unlikely. From here it looks as if the city would have to pay a considerable sum to give away Sharp Park.

There's a better way. Lease the course to San Mateo County, and let it make improvements as it sees fit. Protect habitats for the frogs and snakes. Allow the ocean to have its way with the seawall. Continue to play golf. And in 20 or more years, it is entirely likely that the area will have turned itself into a natural marshland, while the golf course will have reconfigured itself to fit into the remaining land.

It seems like an elegant solution, giving everyone what they want - eventually.

There's just one problem. It will require a trait that San Francisco always finds in short supply - patience.

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